The beer pours a fairly dark brownish black color with good head retention and lacing. The nose is fairly attactive, showcasing the predictable coffee and dark chocolate. The flavor profile replicates the nose, though I also pick up some bitterness on the finish that is appealing. Mouthfeel is medium bodied, and the finish is fairly long in this modestly sweet stout. The bitterness comes on fairly strong at the end.

21st amendment... why bother to make a beer like this? This beer tastes like a million other american stouts I've tried, with really nothing to distinguish it. The beer is OK, but I can't imagine why I'd want to ever order this again. There are so many interesting, great stouts out there right now... why would I want to order something like this.

The foam looks like chocolate milk, the beer itself like coffee - seems like we're in for a dark, decadent treat! Even held directly up into the bright lights of the brewpub this remains firmly black and opaque (the foam, however, although dark brown, does contain a rainbow worth of colours). And it leaves lacing that would make a spider jealous.

How do roasted grains come to smell so much like bittersweet chocolate? Why don't they teach that in high school science class? This bouquet has both sweetness (honeycomb toffee like in a "Crunchie" bar) as well as bitterness (as in a piping hot shot of fresh-pulled espresso). The combination of sweet and strong flavours has me thinking one thing: dessert!

Each sip is like biting into a big block of bakers chocolate and then chasing it with a swig of black coffee. Beneath all this bittersweet brownie flavour, however, is a little bit of fruitiness, notes of nectarine and plum. They are subtle but break up some of the richness; perhaps that's what the brewer had in mind when he advertised a "citrus finish"?

Mo'tcho Risin' reminds me a lot of Young's Double Chocolate Stout - for a chocolate beer, there's no higher compliment than that. Although at 8.1% and 57 IBU, it is considerably stronger. Still, both share a touch of residual sugar (like a toffee or caramel note) that lightens and compliments the coffee roast and turns the dark chocolate into bittersweet milk chocolate.

21st Amendment has really only one weakness so far as I'm concerned, and that's making their beers too drinkable. As a brewpub situated just down the street from the ballpark, I think they gear their products towards a more mainstream crowd and so even their stronger, bolder beers are immensely approachable (but less complex, by extension). Mo'tcho Risin' doesn't compete with the best imperial stouts, but it does have it 'goin'-on' in the conventional sense.